1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a foregrip for a firearm. More particularly, it relates to a foregrip for a firearm for placing a shooter in a physiologically correct posture, for mitigating said shooter's dependence on fine motor skills, and for mitigating the effects of sympathetic reflex for improved shooting accuracy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ever since the advent of the firearm, it has been a major problem to obtain the best accuracy possible in shooting thereof, particularly for military personnel and law enforcement officers who are operating under high stress situations. While manufacturers have attempted to create foregrips that provide a shooter with control over the firearm, conventional horizontal foregrips work against proper shooting alignment by creating excessive muscle fatigue and encouraging unwanted twisting and movement in the shooting and support arm.
A major problem created by conventional horizontal foregrips is unnecessary support arm tension that creates a sympathetic reflex in the indexed trigger finger, resulting in involuntary twisting and movement of the firearm. The excessive pressure placed on the trigger finger prior to and during discharge is also known as slapping the trigger. Conventional horizontal foregrips also induce excess fatigue in the support arm and force the shooter into poor shooting posture. Such involuntary twisting, movement, fatigue, and poor posture can be disastrous; even the slightest degree of inaccuracy can result in unintended casualties, especially as the battlefield moves to more populated urban settings. According to the FBI's well documented deadly force literature, an officer under stress only hits an intended target roughly 17% of the time.
Like conventional horizontal foregrips, vertical foregrips work against proper shooting alignment by not taking into consideration the effects of sympathetic reflex and muscular tension within the support hand. Moreover, vertical foregrips do not account for the many externalities associated with high stress precision shooting, including shooter dexterity, strength, kit design, and the rapidly changing tactical environments requiring rapid modifications in tactics and postures. In fact, vertical foregrips only exacerbate the aforementioned problems of conventional horizontal foregrips and increase the likelihood of shooting inaccuracy.
What is needed is a foregrip that automatically (without conscious awareness) places a shooter in a physiologically correct posture for improved shooting accuracy and removes the over dependency on fine and complex motor skill functionality required for high stress precision shooting.
What is also needed is a foregrip that places portions of the upper extremity of the body involved in shooting into an ideal physiological posture to promote rapid and dependable replication.
What is further needed is a foregrip that provides increased control over the weapon system being used, promotes relaxation, and mitigates sympathetic reflex.
However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art how the limitations of the art could be overcome.